


I'm Not Her

by aftout



Category: Petscop (Web Series)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, I MEAN WUHEJH YEAH, I'm not the greatest at horror but I think those things apply?, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Slight horror, Survival Horror, found family trope, in future chapters I'm not sure how tagging works, there will also be needles in future chapters!! I will be sure to mark all of this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26801068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aftout/pseuds/aftout
Summary: Care Evergreen (14 yrs) falls into the Newmaker Plane, an underground world being used to hold together all the pieces needed to create a simulation of a very unfortunate event. An event that should've been put to rest 35 years ago.A puzzle piece was missing. That puzzle piece is Care.
Kudos: 8





	1. 0

Downwards you tumble, spiraling further and further as each second passes.  
My perfect being. My missing puzzle piece. I’ve finally found you.  
It took quite some time, but I’m certain that you’ll find yourself blending in quite well here.  
This place is much like a game, with unlocked paths and secrets hidden amongst out of place objects.  
You’re older, wiser, and far more stubborn than she was. That’s okay, we can make this work.  
We’ll bring this story back to fruition together.  
Wouldn’t that be delightful?


	2. 1

Ackroyd Orphanage is a moderately sized building that stands near the construction of what is to be the Oklahoma City Convention Center. It is one of the few orphanages to still use ‘orphanage’ in its name, but it’s known for taking good care of the kids that live there. They provide education, good counseling, and other basic needs for children to grow up in a healthy environment.  
Care was sent to Ackroyd Orphanage at a very young age. She never knew her parents, nor did she ever really feel connected to them in a sense that made her desperate to reunite.  
Care was a character, according to other staff members. She started off as being the quiet, shy kid. She was a personal favorite amongst the older kids, who liked listening to the stories she came up with. She wasn’t one to avoid adventure. Nothing too scary, but from time to time she’d run off to chase after a squirrel and end up getting lost. It was a habit that required a little bit of counseling to grow out of.  
As she grew older, Care switched from being shy and quiet to far more vocal and confident. She was a natural leader, and didn’t like being doubted or taken for granted.  
Care wasn’t afraid of fighting, either.  
So when one of the older boys thought it’d be funny to mock her and knock her food tray out of her hands, it didn’t take long until staff members had to pull the two away from each other and send them off to individually talk to Ackroyd’s headmaster; Ms. George.

Care slouches back lazily in a large, green chair, poking uncomfortably at a bandaid that had been plastered over her cheek where the boy had managed to scratch her. Ms. George sat at the large oak desk in front of her, flipping through papers before looking up at Care with a concerned expression on her face. She sighs, pushing her glasses further up her nose.  
Ms. George was younger than your stereotypical headmaster, and a lot more patient and kinder too. It was a family thing, keeping Ackroyd under control, and Ms. George fit the role perfectly. She always wore a women’s dress suit and had dark skin, her curly hair tied back in a tight bun. Care found her to be rather pretty, most of Ackroyd did.

“Well, Care…” She murmurs, leaning forward in her seat, “I can’t say I'm impressed.” Care smiles to herself, averting eye contact.

“Even though I stood up for myself?” She stops smiling when Ms. George shakes her head, not finding the situation to be amusing at all.

“Could you just share your side of the story, please?” She asks in a gentle tone. Care pouts. That damned woman and her patience, it always got the best out of people. Care sits up straight.

“So, I was just making my way to one of the tables, right?” She explains, “And then that kid, what’s his name… Andrew. Andrew, the guy from group CB, he whacks my tray out of my hands and starts calling me a freak! I think his friends were in on it, too, since they found the sight to be rather hilarious.”

“That was until you reportedly punched his jaw.” Ms. George says. Care stares at her for a moment before shrugging one shoulder.

“It wasn’t the jaw, it was the cheek. I didn’t even start with a punch, it was a slap! He’s not much taller than me, y’know?” Apparently her honesty wasn’t getting her out of this any easier. Ms. George, clearly disappointed, scribbled down a few words on what Care could only assume was one of Ackroyd’s little behavior watch notes.

“Why would you slap him, though?”

“Because he was being a jerk!” Care responds in her defense, “I mean, how would you feel if someone started poking fun at you? I only did what had to be done.” Ms. George looks at her with a little bit more pity than she had before. There’s a short silence that’s broken by Ms. George grumbling something under her breath.

“I’ll have a talk with Andrew, he’s not any less guilty than you are.” She hands Care a folded up, red note, “But please try to have a bit more control over your anger. Give this to whoever’s in charge of your room department.” Care nods, taking the note and leaving the room. She met Andrew sitting on the bench outside, who had a red cheek from where she had hit him. He spits at her, sneering at her little offended gasp.

“Fucking prick.” She huffs, flipping him off as she walks away. She could hear him shout angrily at her, but she wasn’t bothered to listen.

Her punishment was cleaning duties during the weekend, she found out after sneaking a glimpse at what Ms. George had written on the note. She groans in annoyance, brushing her hair out of her face as she made her way through the packs of kids that crowded the halls.

“Hey fighter girl! Heard you gave Andrew a sucker punch during dinner.” She didn’t hear who the comment had come from, so she didn’t bother stopping to tell the tale. After finding the head of her room department, a middle aged man named Mr. Wylde, who was in charge of keeping track of all the kids who slept on the same floor as her, she hands him the note and makes her way to her room.

“Dinner’s not over yet!” Mr. Wylde calls after her, “Are you sure you don’t want to get at least some food into your stomach?”

“I’ll be fine.” Care calls back, before disappearing around the corner and up the stairs to her floor.

Care’s room was relatively small, which was fine because she never really lounged around in there. Lifting up her pillow, she pulls a small envelope out from the casing and opens it. She had enough money to buy a grilled sandwich from the Middle Eastern guy who ran the little food stand not far from the orphanage. In fact, she could see him selling stuff to passersby from her window. She shoves the money down her sweater, grabs a few pieces of paper and a lighter she had stolen from one of the older students from behind her desk drawer and shoves those down her sweater as well. Care liked burning paper when she was grumpy. She tightens the belt around her overall pants to prevent anything from falling any further down, and then exits her room. Glancing both ways to make sure no one was there, she casually walks towards the fire exit and opens the door, making sure to close it without making much sound. The cold, October air hits her face, contrasting the warmth from indoors. The metal, spiral staircase rattled underneath Care’s sneakers as she made her way down to the street, but she had taken this route enough times to know that it was safe. She makes her way across the road and jogs up to the food stand. The man working there recognizes her immediately, and smiles.

“Ah, welcome! My most regular customer.” Care smiles back, pulling her arm out of her sleeve to grab the money before putting the sleeve back on. She hands him the money.

“Will it be your usual?”

“Yes, please.”

“I’ll have that ready for you in just a minute.” Care watches the cars speed by as she waits, humming softly to herself as the smell of food cooking fills the air. Despite having visited the stand so many times, she had never learned the guy’s name. He didn’t know hers, though, so it was fair. What he did know was that she was from Ackroyd, so he was always kind enough to add a free drink to her order. A few minutes pass until he taps her on the shoulder, handing her a cold soda and her sandwich. She thanks him, waving goodbye as she starts her walk away from Ackroyd Orphanage. Care was always sneaking out. She was either super good at it, or the staff just didn’t care anymore. She always came back before night roll call, so at least she was responsible. The streets were more packed than usual tonight, so when she had finished her sandwich, she was struggling to find a spot where she could set the few scraps of paper on fire without getting caught. After some thoughtful wandering, she settles for a small alleyway between two houses. At the end, eerily darkened by a shadow, was a big waste container. Not a single person was present.  
Sitting down on the cold ground next to the waste container with her back up against the wall, Care fishes out the paper and the lighter and gets to work. She was always careful when she burned stuff, keeping at least a bit of her drink to soak up parts of the paper so nothing would get out of hand. She absentmindedly watches the flames flicker, taking in a deep breath. It provided a bit of warmth against the chilly winds, which she was grateful for.   
After a few minutes had passed and she felt satisfied for the night, she stomps out the last flame and stands up, brushing off her pants. Just as she’s about to head back, a thump comes from the waste container. Care jumps, looking back at it. Raising an eyebrow, she gingerly approaches. Another thump is heard. Care frowns. A raccoon must’ve gotten stuck. Lighter in hand, just in case she needed to burn some dumpster freak, she carefully lifts up the lid. When nothing tries to scramble out, she lifts it open all the way and is greeted with a void, something she was not expected to be greeted with. Before Care could close the lid again, something somehow knocks her off her balance and she falls in, her screaming cut short by the sudden slam of the lid closing on its own. All that was left was a chilling silence.

Panic is a universal feeling. It’s triggered by both explainable occurrences and unexplainable ones. It can be both a good and a bad thing. It can heighten one’s defense senses, but also hold one back. What a peculiar feeling.  
Panic is what Care was feeling now.


	3. 2

She wakes up with a jolt, she had just missed experiencing the air getting knocked out of her lungs. Opening her eyes greeted her with nothing but a vast darkness, as if the sky had been deprived of all color. No stars or sound present. It wasn’t even cold anymore.  
Care still had her lighter in hand. Sitting upright, the color drains from her face. She sat alone on a grassy field, the green color darker than what she was used to.  
Care lets out a scream. She screamed until her lungs were begging for air. None of this was right, it felt far too realistic for her liking. She pokes herself multiple times in hopes that she’d wake up and find herself passed out in the alleyway, but her efforts showed no result. Tears brimming up in her eyes, she pulls on her hair out of frustration.

“Fuck. Fuck!” No one was there to hear her curse, but she had to fill in the silence for her own sake. She shoots up onto her feet and takes a step forward, already feeling lost. Everything looked exactly the same, it didn’t matter where she went. Care screams a couple more times, swearing and kicking at the ground. She looks up in hopes to find some form of answer on how to get out, like maybe where that spotlight following her was coming from. She found nothing.  
Stressed out of her wits, she paces around the area. She had no phone with her, not even extra food. After a while, she breaks into a sprint.

“What kind of twisted nightmare is this?” She asks herself under her breath, as if someone could hear her or let alone answer. Biting on her nails, she turns around and continues to walk backwards. It felt like someone was watching.

“This is a stupid question, but, is anyone there?” She yelps as she backs into something rock solid. Whipping around, she finds what looked like an outdoor entrance to a basement with a large, dark oak door. It seemed ancient, the exact opposite of welcoming. After a moment of hesitation, Care tries to open it, but it was locked shut. Grunting, she pulls even harder, shaking and kicking at the cursed thing. After a minute or three, it suddenly swings open all on its own, playing a little chime as if it were to mock her. Care is knocked back, staring at the open entrance to see if anyone would step out.  
No one came. Getting back up onto her feet and brushing herself off, Care takes a deep breath before entering, letting the darkness absorb her. The door slams shut behind her and she nearly trips down a narrow staircase. Care wasn’t thrilled at all.

It took her a few long corridors to reach an actual room. She had to squint her eyes to adjust to the lighting, despite how dim it was. It seemed to be a small office space, with a chair pushed away from a desk with a phone on it, two office drawers placed to the right of the desk and a corkboard hung up on the wall to the left. Care soaks all of it in, the only sounds present being her own footsteps and heavy breathing. That’s interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. Care shrieks, jumping back and staring wide eyed before irrationally answering it.

“Hello?”

“Carrie has left the room.” The chilling voice of a woman came out distorted and fuzzy. Care’s heart was pounding in her chest.

“Excuse me? What do you mean by that?” A slow dial tone is the only response she gets, and then it all falls quiet. Care stares at the phone in her hand dumbfounded, before putting it down again and fastening her gaze on the corkboard. Several notes and scraps of paper were put on display, but what stood out the most to her was the paper with three crude drawings of a girl’s face on it, each labeled with letters:  
A, B, and NLM.  
Squinting and taking a step closer, Care couldn’t help but notice similarities between her and the girl. With a fidgeting hand, she rips the paper off of the board, folding it and shoving it into her pocket. Now what? She wasn’t sure where to go next. Of course the most reasonable answer would be to continue walking straight ahead, through the yet another doorway that stood in front of her, but she felt like she was moving too quickly. She hadn’t processed any of this properly yet.  
So instead, Care sits down in the office chair, resting her head against the desk. The phone never rang a second time, and slowly but surely she grew more accustomed to the silence that she had never deemed possible until now.

This is all just a dream… It has to be.

She felt her eyelids droop, tired from straining themselves.

A stupid, messed up dream.

When she woke up, she was hoping to be back in the alleyway. Instead, she was met with the cold grey tabletop that she had drifted off on. Although this was upsetting, Care couldn’t find the energy to cry. She sits up, rubbing her eyes, then flinching at the sudden weight on her shoulders.  
Someone had draped their blazer over her, like a makeshift blanket. She springs into immediate panic, jumping out of her seat and reaching out to grab something for self defense, only to find nothing. She groans, glancing around nervously. She seemed to be alone in the room. For now.  
The blazer was a light pink color, with no sleeves and a small little pocket in the front. A note stuck out of it. Holding her breath, Care delicately removes the note, folding it open.

Return this when we meet.

The message sent chills down her spine. Someone else was present in this barren wasteland. Half of her was relieved, but the other half was terrified. It was far from certain what their intentions were.  
Nevertheless, she folds the blazer and flings it over her arm, holding it close to her chest. The road home clearly wasn’t behind her, so she had no other choice than to gather herself and move forward. She gingerly walks out of the office, into a dark corridor. She wasn’t surprised in the slightest. Her breaths shaky, Care walks until she comes to a fork in the road. Or, well, a fork in the hall. One way to her left and the other to her right. She freezes up, gaze darting around frantically. She didn’t know which one to choose.

“Make a right.” The sound of a second voice makes all the blood drain from her face. She couldn’t bring herself to scream, the cry getting lodged in her throat and almost choking her.  
A figure steps out from the left hall holding a flashlight. Abnormally tall, lanky, body as dark as the surrounding shadows. Only one of their eyes was visible. They wore a magenta colored dress shirt and black dress pants.  
Care steps back as they approach, the figure stopping about a foot in front of her and crouching down so they could be somewhat at eye level.

“I believe that’s mine.” They say, pointing at the blazer she was holding. Care stammers, holding out the blazer with shaking arms. They take it from her, smiling and revealing a perfect row of freakishly white teeth.

“Who…” Is the only word Care can get out. They chuckle.

“Shadow man is fine.” He spoke softly, reassuring almost, “It’s what I blend into, after all. You must be so, so scared.” Care didn’t like the way he was looking at her. It felt off-putting. His smile fades from view, and he nods slowly.

“Safe travels.” And with that, he delves back into the dark, leaving Care all on her own once again.

She turns on her heel and runs.  
The right hall wasn’t very straight. It was more of a zigzag shape than anything, a single large photo of a building hung up on the wall by each turn. Care was too busy sprinting for her life to properly look at them, but she was able to make out the colors: the first building was green, the second was red, and the third was grey. She actually slammed into the wall by mistake by the grey one, since the hall was a bit longer and she hadn’t expected yet another twist. She lets out a sharp scream and skids to a halt the minute she exits the hall, stopping just at the edge of a road as a car speeds past before getting engulfed by darkness. She wasn’t sure if she had imagined it or not. Her chest heaving and her breaths coming out as pants, Care glances behind her. Nothing but a doorway. Sweat trickles down her forehead.  
Looking both ways, she darts across the street and turns to her left, entering a grassy clearing. Infront of her stood a small shack and a gravestone with eyes drawn on it. In fact, eyes were drawn on the shack as well. Care winces at the sight, not fond of the design choices whatsoever.  
But her taste didn’t matter in a place like this. She’d have to put up with it either way, whether she liked it or not.  
And Care had a heart-wrenching feeling that she was going to have to put up with it for a while.


End file.
